This is not surprising really, Pat Fry went to Ferrari and I bet Alonso was crucial to that. He must have given Ferrari which of the Mclaren top guns to poach. Pat Fry then drew a few others away from Mclaren to join him at Ferrari.

We are seeing the pattern unfolding and I bet there will be a few more Mclaren hot shots leaving for Merc.

Sure but if they had done this right from that start then maybe they would have gotten more victory's then Nico's one now. They just underestimated the job and now after three seasons they finally start spending some money in order to get to the front.

I just think they could have done this a lot sooner and therefore could have made much bigger gains at the start of their project.

Why do I have the feeling the Mercedes board went into panic mode? If this is Lauda's first move, there is a real shitstorm coming, and with the noises that were coming from Williams, they are more than happy to see Wolff on the other side of the door. Wolff is effectively TP now, that seems to be quite clear, holding hands with Lauda. That does not bode well for the future. I may be giving Wolff the benefit of doubt, but if Lauda goes berserk, and activates himself as the boss of Wolff, this is not going to work for long, and they could collapse as a team. I do hope this settles down asap. For the moment, this seems to be a mess, and Brawn leaving seems to be inevitable, though not necessarily this season, if not by his own decision sooner. This came out of nowhere, really. It may give a whole new meaning to the Hamilton career mistake thread too. Plus all this 2 weeks before Jerez. Unsettling.

Why do I have the feeling the Mercedes board went into panic mode? If this is Lauda's first move, there is a real shitstorm coming, and with the noises that were coming from Williams, they are more than happy to see Wolff on the other side of the door. Wolff is effectively TP now, that seems to be quite clear, holding hands with Lauda. That does not bode well for the future. I may be giving Wolff the benefit of doubt, but if Lauda goes berserk, and activates himself as the boss of Wolff, this is not going to work for long, and they could collapse as a team. I do hope this settles down asap. For the moment, this seems to be a mess, and Brawn leaving seems to be inevitable, though not necessarily this season, if not by his own decision sooner. This came out of nowhere, really. It may give a whole new meaning to the Hamilton career mistake thread too. Plus all this 2 weeks before Jerez. Unsettling.

I guess that all depends on whether this is unfolding as we speak or has been in the works for some time.

I guess that all depends on whether this is unfolding as we speak or has been in the works for some time.

It has to have been in the works for some time, at least in Lauda's head. Wolff, by his own words, has not even visited Brackley yet, so it is unfolding as we speak too. he said he has only spoken to Brawn as yet. Brawn himself has not spoken a word, and on paper, he is the TP. Lauda is silent as a fish, and seems to be pulling the strings. I am really curious as to who will show up at Jerez when they present the car, and for the media throughout the tests.

Well you've got to figure the Wolff and Lauda purchase of Aabar shares was in the works for some time. Lauda has been active with Merc for some time now and was instrumental in the negotiation with Lewis.If the story of Lowe moving with Wolff is true then that move must of been planned for some time as well as the rumour suggests he was going to Williams to work with Toto.I hope this management team is more effective at steering car development throughout 2013 than has been the case over the last few years at MGP.

Why "God help us all"? We'll lose Mercedes, hardly a big deal, but won't lose their engines, considering their investments and commitments to the new regs.

That didn't stop Honda from pulling out when they had the fastest car on the grid already designed. That didn't stop Toyota from pulling out after investing in the best facilities and wind tunnel in F1. That didn't stop BMW from pulling out. This is always a fear with a major manufacturer. I think it would be a major loss to lose Mercedes in F1, however I believe they're committed to the F1 brand now and are here for the long term, Mercedes is and always has been connected to GP racing, if it hadn't been for the LeMans accident in 1955 they never would have ceased to participate. They have now been a part of the grid since 1993, 20 years.

..... This came out of nowhere, really. It may give a whole new meaning to the Hamilton career mistake thread too. Plus all this 2 weeks before Jerez. Unsettling.

These are big moves but I don't think they came out of nowhere... some might even say they expected them sooner (me being one of those).

Not that I don't like Brawn- I do... but the fact is that other than the Brawn GP semi season domination and victory in 2009, which could be argued was an anomoly, his recent guidance has under delivered and over excused. They have trended downward as each season has progressed and changes made to reverse the trend have not worked.

Perhaps 2013 will be the turn around year for this team but given their track record, the board seems more confident that a fresh start is more likely to produce better results than the devolution this crew has becomeknown for. I can't fault that logic.

If they don't rework this team now, and they have another bad season in 2013, then 2014 (and the new engine) will likely suffer as well. It's much easier to justify another bad (2013) with a new crew working for the future. If this team does have a great season, despite their conservative estimates, there's certainly grounds to suggest it was too little too late.

These are big moves but I don't think they came out of nowhere... some might even say they expected them sooner (me being one of those).

Not that I don't like Brawn- I do... but the fact is that other than the Brawn GP semi season domination and victory in 2009, which could be argued was an anomoly, his recent guidance has under delivered and over excused. They have trended downward as each season has progressed and changes made to reverse the trend have not worked.

Perhaps 2013 will be the turn around year for this team but given their track record, the board seems more confident that a fresh start is more likely to produce better results than the devolution this crew has becomeknown for. I can't fault that logic.

If they don't rework this team now, and they have another bad season in 2013, then 2014 (and the new engine) will likely suffer as well. It's much easier to justify another bad (2013) with a new crew working for the future. If this team does have a great season, despite their conservative estimates, there's certainly grounds to suggest it was too little too late.

I agree. For a shake-up, it is the last possible moment too. I don't have a problem with that. It may seem at the moment that the technical structure set up so far may not even suffer, at least not on the short term, and that is the way it should be. What I have a problem with is giving Lauda and Wolff a 40% stake in the F1 team between them. THAT is going to be a huge problem, IMHO.

...What I have a problem with is giving Lauda and Wolff a 40% stake in the F1 team between them. THAT is going to be a huge problem, IMHO.

I have mixed feelings on that one. Merc bought out (supposedly in a planned way) Brawns interest in the team. I figured his was done because either : A) Merc wanted an F1 team and/or sole control or B) Brawn negotiated that and want to divest himself (cash out).

This latest release of shares seems to support that either Mercedes has had a change of heart (if it was option A) OR it was never option A and Brawn wanted out. If it was option B, I have to wonder why they stuck with Brawn given his divestment and lack of results?

I agree. For a shake-up, it is the last possible moment too. I don't have a problem with that. It may seem at the moment that the technical structure set up so far may not even suffer, at least not on the short term, and that is the way it should be. What I have a problem with is giving Lauda and Wolff a 40% stake in the F1 team between them. THAT is going to be a huge problem, IMHO.

That didn't stop Honda from pulling out when they had the fastest car on the grid already designed. That didn't stop Toyota from pulling out after investing in the best facilities and wind tunnel in F1. That didn't stop BMW from pulling out. This is always a fear with a major manufacturer. I think it would be a major loss to lose Mercedes in F1, however I believe they're committed to the F1 brand now and are here for the long term, Mercedes is and always has been connected to GP racing, if it hadn't been for the LeMans accident in 1955 they never would have ceased to participate. They have now been a part of the grid since 1993, 20 years.

I have mixed feelings on that one. Merc bought out (supposedly in a planned way) Brawns interest in the team. I figured his was done because either : A) Merc wanted an F1 team and/or sole control or B) Brawn negotiated that and want to divest himself (cash out).

This latest release of shares seems to support that either Mercedes has had a change of heart (if it was option A) OR it was never option A and Brawn wanted out. If it was option B, I have to wonder why they stuck with Brawn given his divestment and lack of results?

I believe the end result is that MGP is going to sell off the F1 team, and what we see here is the groundwork for a sale likely to Toto Wolff and some smaller investors. I suspect whenever he divests of the Williams shares, you'll see him buy another huge chunk of MGP that gives him majority control, as well as a name change to something else obviously.

Just to tone down a bit: If Wolff takes the everyday non-tech related management tasks off Brawn's shoulders(which he quite obviously lacked in anyway), Lauda stays out of the management, lets them work, and goes into Marko-style barking mode(and licks LH's ass like Marko does to Vettel), while they let Brawn do the rest, this could even end well. Bar for Nico Rosberg, of course. He could find himself in a Webber-like situation. Ideally. which is a tad naive to expect, but still.

So when Lauda appeared before the international motor-racing press in a disco-lit hangar in Milton Keynes, it was in his customary of uniform of jeans, V-neck jumper, well-cut jacket and – his own red badge of courage – the Parmalat baseball cap which he wears to hide the scars on his head. He had, unusually, put on a tie (at his wedding he had to borrow one from his best man), and though the effect was undermined by the fact that one of his fly buttons was undone, the discovery is unlikely to have fazed him.

Just to tone down a bit: If Wolff takes the everyday non-tech related management tasks off Brawn's shoulders(which he quite obviously lacked in anyway), Lauda stays out of the management, lets them work, and goes into Marko-style barking mode(and licks LH's ass like Marko does to Vettel), while they let Brawn do the rest, this could even end well. Bar for Nico Rosberg, of course. He could find himself in a Webber-like situation. Ideally. which is a tad naive to expect, but still.

Truth is, Nico matters very little in the grand scheme of things. If Mercedes felt the need to approach the big guns, it's probably because they felt Nico isn't up to stuff to lead the team to glory.

Why do I have the feeling the Mercedes board went into panic mode? If this is Lauda's first move, there is a real shitstorm coming, and with the noises that were coming from Williams, they are more than happy to see Wolff on the other side of the door. Wolff is effectively TP now, that seems to be quite clear, holding hands with Lauda. That does not bode well for the future. I may be giving Wolff the benefit of doubt, but if Lauda goes berserk, and activates himself as the boss of Wolff, this is not going to work for long, and they could collapse as a team. I do hope this settles down asap. For the moment, this seems to be a mess, and Brawn leaving seems to be inevitable, though not necessarily this season, if not by his own decision sooner. This came out of nowhere, really. It may give a whole new meaning to the Hamilton career mistake thread too. Plus all this 2 weeks before Jerez. Unsettling.